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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The community of Colorado Springs hit by that horrific tragedy on Saturday is finding ways to rebuild after losing five community members.
"Not one of us can fix this. We have to come together as a community, as a nation," said Stephanie Hanenberg, who oversees the mental health and wellness services at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She's also on the front line of helping the county and the community with resources for those who are grieving.
"We can't forget we need to come together and try and stop these things from happening," she added.
It was just before midnight when the 22-year-old gunman entered Club Q and started shooting. Five people were killed and another 17 were hit and injured by a bullet.
The shooting occurred on the heels of several other tragic shootings in Colorado.
Just last year, 10 people were killed at a Boulder supermarket. In 2012, a dozen people were killed in a mass shooting in an Aurora movie theater, and in 1999, there was the Columbine High School massacre.
"We have been hit hard and we've had a lot of tragedies," Hanenberg said.
But she believes communities can heal.
"I think we can heal. We've done it before. I think each time it gets a little harder because it's like, why is this happening again?"
Hanenberg said the way healing happens is through candlelight vigils, memorials, community gatherings and counseling.
"We cannot forget this. We need to take action. We need to constantly be providing resources for those individuals, because this week, a lot of people are going to be with their family, but then what next week?"
